DELAWARE, Ohio – The Ohio Wesleyan University students displaying artworks in “Marks Made,” the 2013 senior art show, describe their art as part of themselves. They have a compelling need to create, express, and share the beauty of the world around them.

The title of the show, chosen by senior fine arts major Danielle Muzina, refers to “mark making,” a term used to describe the process of creating lines, shapes, and gestures.

“By entitling our senior show ‘marks made,’ we are trying to encompass all the different marks each artist makes in their various chosen media, and we invite you to see them,” Muzina said.

“Marks Made” will open with a reception from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. April 13 at Ohio Wesleyan’s Richard M. Ross Art Museum, 60 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. The show will remain on display until noon May 12 – graduation day for OWU’s soon-to-be alumni artists.

“It’s a competitive process,” Muzina said of the juried show, with works selected by Ohio Wesleyan fine arts faculty members. “The professors know us and our work, and generally people get work in.” Each senior has at least one piece in the show.

Molly Curry is a fine arts major from Holliston, Mass. Her area of concentration is painting. “While I still have a passion for creating artwork, I have developed a greater passion for working with children and helping them develop their artistic abilities. I hope to create a learning environment where I can inspire students and allow them to experience the same feelings I have when I make art. I want to help students feel successful and confident by encouraging them, the same way my professors at OWU challenged and encouraged me.”

Chelsea Dipman is a fine arts major and education minor from Gahanna, Ohio. Her area of concentration is painting. “As an artist, I am moved to create art to make sense of the everyday beauty around me, and to appreciate it in the forms that I see most – the people who are a part of my life.”

Haley Figlestahler is a studio art and biology double major from Minford, Ohio. “Above all things, I am a unique artist because I am a biologist as well. I have struggled with this duel personality for my entire college career, but this is who I am. I am an explorer of the world and I do so by my art and science. Unlike most artists, I interpret my surroundings from two very different directions, which gives me a unique understanding of what goes on around me. My art embodies my perception of the world.”

Allyson Hays is a fine arts major and psychology minor from Worthington, Ohio. Her concentrations are painting, ceramics, and drawing. “My most recent work has allowed me to explore my interest in the human form. … While I was initially motivated to depict the human body as an exploration of shape and form, my interest has grown to include issues of body image and self-perception. By representing both favored and least-favored body parts with equal attention, my work highlights the subjectivity of perceptions of beauty.”

Ashley Johnston is fine arts major from Sewickley, Pa. Her concentration is photography. “With my work, I try to make people see the things that are normally looked over, little snapshots of life that usually get passive glances, moments of light or emotions that are generally not given a second glance. I am drawn to lines, mark makings, and high levels of contrast. I love looking through the camera lens and seeing a little glimpse of someone’s life or a close-up view of something so ordinary that its beauty is taken for granted.”

Chelsea Leeds is a fine arts major and psychology minor from Indianapolis, Ind. Her concentration is painting. “The focus of my artwork for the past two years has been largely influenced by my entire college experience, specifically the women I have met the last four years. I chose to focus on painting my female acquaintances after considering how blessed I was to be surrounded by strong and passionate women. Their self-assurance, compassion, and integrity are things I find both inspirational and surprising in today’s society where low self-esteem, especially among women, is an epidemic.”

Gissele Miller is a studio art major and Spanish and cultural geography minor from Galena, Ohio. Her concentration is photography. “My work reflects much of my own experiences and memories of life. These experiences can be a mix of things from the beautiful shape of a Brazilian fruit to specific memories of my childhood; sometimes translated into photography or ceramics, these memories may not be recognized. I consider life not to be a continuous event but rather a series of events; thus my work of childhood memories would be remarkably different than my work of today.”

Danielle Muzina is a fine arts major and English minor from Cleveland, Ohio. Her concentrations are painting and drawing. “I want to elevate the importance of introspection through my work. I intend for my work to serve as imagery for private contemplation. By confronting the viewer with situations in which the figure is inwardly focused, I hope to compel them to focus inwardly as well. … I hope that the physical evidence of my own struggle to respond to what I see both honestly and emotionally will engage the viewer in a meaningful silent conversation and create an environment for meditation.”

Logan Osborne is a fine arts major from Washington, D.C. His concentration is photography. “I have come to see my surroundings as if they were a photograph. These instances can pass in a split-second and viewing my surroundings as a constant photograph has allowed me to better capture these moments. I have taught myself to see a composition where others may see nothing. I have learned to see these compositions as scenes that capture emotions.”

Paige Phillips is a fine arts major from Pittsburgh, Pa. Her concentrations are graphic design, computer imaging, and drawing. “I prefer to create artworks that hold meaning to me, whether that be by drawing family or making books using materials I have gathered from close friends. With this said, the process of creating art is just as important to me as the end result. Most of my works depict intimate and sincere moments; therefore, I consider the process to be an outlet for me to express my own emotions.”

Stefanie Rieder is a fine arts major from Logan, Ohio. Her concentrations are photography and computer imaging. “In this series, Vessels, my work is a compilation of photographs. With double exposure I am able to layer moments in order to form an experience. This is not necessarily a way to change the past, but rather a way to hold onto it.”

Brandon Sega is a fine arts major from Upper Arlington, Ohio. His concentrations are graphic design and computer imaging. “I try to have fun with all of my work making it as entertaining for the viewer as it was for me while creating it. And just like my works of art, you either go big or you go home.”

Catherine Spence-Godin is a fine arts major and education minor from Radnor, Pa. Her concentration is drawing. “My work is ever-changing, as I find myself constantly intrigued by new subjects. My current interest, however, lies within the figure. I am captivated by just how much can be told from a few simple human gestures and how the body, rather than the portraiture, can become an expression in itself.”

Laura Troyer-Joy is a fine arts major and sociology minor from Chicago. Her concentrations are painting and photography. “Much of my artwork can be categorized by the presence of vulnerability in the people and inanimate objects that my work depicts. While I cannot claim that the search for this expression of vulnerability has always been a conscious one, the raw authenticity that it can create is something that I find compelling and that I looked for in much of the work that I produce.”

Matthew Turner is a studio art major and economics management minor from Worthington, Ohio. “My work is a constructive elaboration on an aesthetic exploration of elements I respond to in nature, society, and my own mark making. I avoid context and embrace ambiguity and functionality.”

Katie Wegener is a fine arts major and sociology minor from Grove City, Ohio. Her concentration is graphic design. “I am hopeful, colorful, joyful … and my artwork reflects me. I believe art should be beautiful – a gift that brings life. My desire is that the light-hearted, bright nature of my work taps in to the hope that lies in each of us.”

Andrew Wilson is a fine arts major from Oakland, Calif. His concentrations are metals/jewelry. “My art centers around themes of masculinity and sexuality in black men, a retrospective look at black history in the United States and the complex intersections these identities create within themselves. The different media I work in highlight the intricate nature of identity.”

The Ross Art Museum is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m.; and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is handicap-accessible and admission is free.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities. Ohio Wesleyan offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. OWU combines an internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that connect classroom theory with real-world practice. Located in Delaware, Ohio, OWU’s 1,850 students represent 41 states and 45 countries. The university is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.